I can't believe my baby is almost one! Sometimes it seems like I just had her yesterday and other times it seems like she's been a part of our family forever and I it's hard to remember life without her. She really is such a little light to our family. It's been so fun to watch her learn new things and continue to grow and change. Sometimes I catch myself just looking at her and thinking "how in the world do you already look so grown up?" She's gotten really good at pulling herself up and standing now, and she's a speedy little walker when someone is holding her hands. Lately Brooklynn loves standing on one side of her and holding her hand and I stand on the other side and hold her hand, and we take walks around the house. Madison walks on her tiptoes usually and it's so funny to watch her. She's also started walking with her little Lion Walker Toy. It gives her something to hold onto and gives her some stability, and she can push that thing and walk all by herself. When she does it, one of her little legs is usually turned outward a little bit and it makes me laugh every time I watch her. She just gets so excited and hustles around. She's a speed demon at crawling now. She thinks its funny when I go to pick her up, and she'll start crawling away as fast as she can.
She claps all the time now, and I'm trying to teach her how to wave. She climbs up the stairs all by herself and she'll go up there and play by herself or with Brooklynn for a while and then she just sits at the top of the stairs and grunts when she's ready for me to come get her. A while ago she fell down the stairs, and she has never attempted to go down them since. I had blocked it off at the top with the bassinet and some big pillows from the couch while I ran downstairs to switch the laundry, and she climbed through the pillows and fell down most of the stairs. It scared me to death, and I think it did her too, because she hasn't really attempted to go down them again by herself.
She has started wanting to hand things back and forth. During Sunday School this past week she just sat there and wanted to hand a toy to me, and then I'd hand it to her, and she'd hand it back. So funny! She has also started copying Brooklynn during bath time and she'll take a little toy teapot and she sits under the faucet and I'll leave a little trickle of water on and she loves to just sit there and fill it up, then she drinks some, and dumps it out and starts all over. Brooklynn used to do that every night, so I know she's learned it from watching her. She just cracks me up!
She has also started climbing! She'll climb up on Brooklynn's little pink chair all the time, and she can climb up the little slide in our backyard the wrong and right ways already! I couldn't believe it when I watched her do it over a week ago! She seems a lot smaller than Brooklynn was at this age, and I kind of love that. It makes me feel like she's still my baby. I pulled out the chalkboard I used for Brooklynn's 1st birthday that had all the things about her and about what she liked and what she could do when she was almost 1, and seeing the differences between her and Madison was so fun and crazy how different they are. Madison has 2 teeth(2 others are about to pop through) and Brooklynn had 7 teeth at this age. Madison weighs about 5 lbs less than Madison did but they are the same height. Madison has a little bit of curl to her hair, and she has so much more than Brooklynn did at this age.
She has pretty much rejected any sort of store bought baby food at this point. She's getting so much better at eating things without gagging and choking. She loves bananas, grapes, bread, yogurt, cheese, deli meats, crackers, and sadly I have to admit that I have given her a few cheetos puffs and she's obsessed. I will use our little hand masher and mash up whatever we are having for dinner and she'll usually have whatever we are eating.
Brooklynn is becoming so much better at being polite. She's finally caught on to asking for things nicely the first time. I was almost certain that having to say "How do we ask nicely?" or "What's the magic word?" was going to be a part of my lingo FOREVER!! It's so nice to finally hear her ask politely the first time. Joe started having her "redo it" every time she didn't ask the right way, and I think that helped a ton. He'd say "I'm sorry, that's not how we ask for things. Try again." " Hi Brooklynn, what can I help you with?" and she'd have to say it again. If she didn't say please that time, he'd say it all over again.
She's got a really great memory when it comes to repeating books that we read to her, or songs we sing to her. We can read a book and pause, and she'll say what word or sentence comes next. She learned "Little Miss Muffet" from reading it at Grandad and Grandma's house. She loves Llama Llama books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, I Am A Child of God, Popcorn Popping, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
We have just a few Disney Movies, and she loves watching "A Show." She loves Frozen, Tangled, Cinderella, and Toy Story. Hopefully we'll get to add to our collection and she can experience a few others that I loved growing up, like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White.
She still loves doing everything "by herself." From getting her own yogurt out of the fridge in the morning, grabbing her own spoon, opening her own yogurt, stirring it, getting her own water, putting her own bib on. Everything that needs to be done, she wants to do it now. Sometimes it's really hard for me not to get frustrated. I just have to take some deep breaths and let her be independent. She has learned to buckle herself into her carseat, so that's the latest thing that she flips out about if I try and do it. She also wants to get herself fully dressed all on her own now. That's another fun one for me. ha ha!
She's the best big sister to Madison, and Madison loves her so much. She's started climbing into Madison's crib with her when she hears her crying or fussing either in the mornings or after naps. She always says "I'll go get Madison", and runs upstairs. It's so cute to watch her climb in there and play with her. She's always watching out for her. There have been several times when she's warned me of something unsafe Madison was either doing, or putting in her mouth. I'm excited to watch the bond that these two will have throughout their lives. I just hope they will always be close and be each others best friend.
Brooklynn really is a great helper and I'm really grateful she loves helping me. She helps unload dishes, clean up toys, clean the potties, switch the laundry, sweep, vacuum, water plants, refill the toilet paper basket, "fold" the laundry, put her clothes in her drawers, load the groceries in the cart, unload them when we get home, she'll grab the wipes and a diaper for me if Madison needs to be changed, and I'm sure there is so much more. Hopefully she'll always love helping and being productive.
She still loves puzzles, coloring, playing in the water, reading, playing with her kitchen, playing outside, balloons, clothes and shoes(she loves just grabbing things and trying them on by herself when we go to the store. Doesn't matter the size. ha ha) she LOVES going to Nursery still, she loves being in the kitchen with me and ALWAYS wants to help with whatever I'm doing in there. Whenever we cook or bake she wants to do everything by herself, and it seriously almost drives me bonkers sometimes. I'm looking at it as training for the future. Maybe one day she'll love cooking so much that she'll want to make dinner all the time, and I can just sit back and kick my feet up and relax. Ha ha!
Her latest thing is "Look at Me!" She's been saying it so much lately, and usually she's doing something goofy, and she lets out this big fake roar of a laugh and thinks she's so funny! She is also a rule enforcer. I wonder how she does in nursery with the other kids, but at home she's always telling Madison "we don't do that", or "Madison has to share", or a million other things I can't think of right now.
She really is such a good kid, and Joe has even commented to me that she's come such a long way with her manners, and she's such a good listener. It appears the hard work is paying off. Love my girls!
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Madison is 9 months, Brooklynn 29 months
I feel like there have been so many milestones with Madison this month! She's now been out for longer than she was in my belly! That's so crazy to think about! Her first tooth popped out exactly at 9 months to the day, and there's a second one starting to peek through. She also started crawling and walking in the walker! She sits up like a pro now, and has even taken a bath with Brooklynn, sitting up in the tub when we were in Utah since we didn't have her bathtub there. She's still not the best napper in the world, but I'm grateful for the 30/45 minutes I do get out of her twice a day. She must be like her dad, he can run on no sleep and still be happy. Not me, I'm a grump if I don't get my sleep. She also got moved from the bassinet to the crib finally!
Madison loves being in the car, and gets some good jabber time in. She loves swinging at the park, and her face lights up every single time I set her in a swing and give her a push. She still loves being outdoors, and doesn't mind sitting in the nasty Texas Grass. She is still clapping all the time when she gets excited, and she responds to her name almost immediately. I call her "Little Bug" and Brooklynn will call her that too. It's so cute to hear Brooklynn say it. I'm not really sure where that nickname came from, but it stuck. Joe and Brooklynn also call her Madison Moo as a nickname.
Madison is always moving her little feet in excitement, and she's a very happy baby for the most part, unless she doesn't get enough sleep. She has learned how to get what she wants. After my home workouts, Brooklynn will usually help me make my protein shake in the blender with some ice and a banana. Madison will squawk every time we make it until she gets a taste.
She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth! We have had to go around and pull all of the white rubber tips off of the door stops because she loves to play with them, and eventually pulls them off and puts them in her mouth. She also loves to get her hands on plastic bags, used dryer sheets, She's gotten a lot better at finger feeding, and she is a pro at holding her own bottle. I don't think Brooklynn held a bottle a day in her life until she was almost a year old because I was always there to hold it for her. Madison has had to learn how to do some things quicker out of necessity. Since I have to take care of Brooklynn too, I can't just sit there every feeding with Madison.
She still loves Baby Einstein and watches an episode a day while I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Her favorite episodes are "Old McDonald" and "Water".
Brooklynn is sleeping in a big girl bed now, so that Madison can have the crib. We moved her from the nursery to her big girl room. She's done really well for the most part. There have been a few nights where she has snuck downstairs in the night and I've found her either standing there staring at me, or curled up on the floor at the foot of our bed. We are trying to teach her if she needs us to just call for me, because we have the video monitor in her room. She and Joe went and picked out a night light for her room, and I think that has helped her feel more comfortable in her new room.
We went to Utah at the end of July for a couple of weeks while Joe went to South Africa with Anthony to visit Bob and Sharon. We all ended up getting the flu and couldn't really visit anyone and it ended up being the worst trip we have ever had. At least we were staying at my parents' house and got to be with them. Thankfully my mom was so sweet and helpful when it came to cleaning up throw up and changing clothes and sheets, and taking care of the kids when I ended up getting it. On the way home our flight in Denver ended up getting delayed 3 hours and it was just the cherry on top of the trip. I was so irritated! The girls ended up doing so much better than I thought they would, especially considering that the delay was right during their nap time, and thankfully that airport is big, so we were able to walk around and ride up and down escalators and on moving sidewalks. Brooklynn is obsessed with the moving sidewalks. I can't ride on them with her because strollers aren't allowed, so she just hops on by herself and I walk beside the moving sidewalk with Madison. People are always commenting how cute she is riding that thing all by herself. She's a little dare devil and doesn't mind trying new things.
We took her to Chuck E Cheese for the first time one day when it was raining, and she was in heaven. She loved riding all the rides and playing the games, and that she got to pick out prizes. Every time we drive past it now she hollers out "There's Chuck E Cheese!!"
She loves playing at the park and there are so many things that she didn't used to be able to do, that she will do now. She plays on the big kid part and can do almost everything except go across the monkey bars by herself.
She loves going to Nursery at church, and she cries if we ever skip nursery when we go to someone else's ward for a baby blessing or if we're in Utah. She loves FHE and every Monday we have to do "Wash the Dishes", "London Bridges" "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes". She is usually very good during the lesson, and so far we all really enjoy having Family Home Evening together every week.
I sure love my girls. Being a mom is SO SO hard, but I am very grateful for this opportunity of learning and growth.
Madison loves being in the car, and gets some good jabber time in. She loves swinging at the park, and her face lights up every single time I set her in a swing and give her a push. She still loves being outdoors, and doesn't mind sitting in the nasty Texas Grass. She is still clapping all the time when she gets excited, and she responds to her name almost immediately. I call her "Little Bug" and Brooklynn will call her that too. It's so cute to hear Brooklynn say it. I'm not really sure where that nickname came from, but it stuck. Joe and Brooklynn also call her Madison Moo as a nickname.
Madison is always moving her little feet in excitement, and she's a very happy baby for the most part, unless she doesn't get enough sleep. She has learned how to get what she wants. After my home workouts, Brooklynn will usually help me make my protein shake in the blender with some ice and a banana. Madison will squawk every time we make it until she gets a taste.
She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth! We have had to go around and pull all of the white rubber tips off of the door stops because she loves to play with them, and eventually pulls them off and puts them in her mouth. She also loves to get her hands on plastic bags, used dryer sheets, She's gotten a lot better at finger feeding, and she is a pro at holding her own bottle. I don't think Brooklynn held a bottle a day in her life until she was almost a year old because I was always there to hold it for her. Madison has had to learn how to do some things quicker out of necessity. Since I have to take care of Brooklynn too, I can't just sit there every feeding with Madison.
She still loves Baby Einstein and watches an episode a day while I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Her favorite episodes are "Old McDonald" and "Water".
Brooklynn is sleeping in a big girl bed now, so that Madison can have the crib. We moved her from the nursery to her big girl room. She's done really well for the most part. There have been a few nights where she has snuck downstairs in the night and I've found her either standing there staring at me, or curled up on the floor at the foot of our bed. We are trying to teach her if she needs us to just call for me, because we have the video monitor in her room. She and Joe went and picked out a night light for her room, and I think that has helped her feel more comfortable in her new room.
We went to Utah at the end of July for a couple of weeks while Joe went to South Africa with Anthony to visit Bob and Sharon. We all ended up getting the flu and couldn't really visit anyone and it ended up being the worst trip we have ever had. At least we were staying at my parents' house and got to be with them. Thankfully my mom was so sweet and helpful when it came to cleaning up throw up and changing clothes and sheets, and taking care of the kids when I ended up getting it. On the way home our flight in Denver ended up getting delayed 3 hours and it was just the cherry on top of the trip. I was so irritated! The girls ended up doing so much better than I thought they would, especially considering that the delay was right during their nap time, and thankfully that airport is big, so we were able to walk around and ride up and down escalators and on moving sidewalks. Brooklynn is obsessed with the moving sidewalks. I can't ride on them with her because strollers aren't allowed, so she just hops on by herself and I walk beside the moving sidewalk with Madison. People are always commenting how cute she is riding that thing all by herself. She's a little dare devil and doesn't mind trying new things.
We took her to Chuck E Cheese for the first time one day when it was raining, and she was in heaven. She loved riding all the rides and playing the games, and that she got to pick out prizes. Every time we drive past it now she hollers out "There's Chuck E Cheese!!"
She loves playing at the park and there are so many things that she didn't used to be able to do, that she will do now. She plays on the big kid part and can do almost everything except go across the monkey bars by herself.
She loves going to Nursery at church, and she cries if we ever skip nursery when we go to someone else's ward for a baby blessing or if we're in Utah. She loves FHE and every Monday we have to do "Wash the Dishes", "London Bridges" "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes". She is usually very good during the lesson, and so far we all really enjoy having Family Home Evening together every week.
I sure love my girls. Being a mom is SO SO hard, but I am very grateful for this opportunity of learning and growth.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Madison is 10 Months, Brooklynn 30 Months
Madison is crawling everywhere now, and aggravating her big sister to no end. I didn't think I would be breaking up fights this early in their lives. Madison is always getting into whatever Brooklynn is doing, and of course it drives Brooklynn bananas. They do have their good moments when they can play together nicely. I've been trying to teach Brooklynn that if she doesn't want Madison to bother her, she needs to give her a toy she can play with. She's also trying to call me for help whenever Madison is bothering her. Lets hope things get better.
Madison is pulling herself up from seated to standing all the time now, and there are many times when she follows me wherever I go and uses my legs to pull up on and stands right behind me, holding onto my legs. She does this a lot when I'm getting ready or when I'm making dinner. She loves being in the walker too. She runs over all of our heels constantly, and it hurts so much! Sometimes I just watch her and laugh because she'll run super fast and then sit down and just slide in the walker. She's such a happy baby for the most part and pretty easy going. She can also be very stubborn. I have tried letting her cry sometimes to get her to go to sleep if she wakes up after I have rocked her and put her down. She'll just stand up and scream her lungs out until I come get her, and I have to rock her back to sleep. If she wants something, she will be sure to let you know.
She's started crawling in the tub now and she splashes everyone that's near her. Sometimes that causes fighting too, when Brooklynn doesn't want to be splashed. She'll usually just joins right in though. I am usually pretty wet after bath time. Something else that Madison absolutely loves is when Joe or I squeegee the shower after we are done. She sits on the floor and just watches and has THE BIGGEST smile on her face! She's started standing up now and hitting the shower door while I squeegee. It's so funny to see the things that bring your kids so much joy.
She's started showing an interest in looking at books now. She still loves watching Baby Einstein Old McDonald, and still LOVES being outside. We have been going on long walks several times a week and we'll usually stop at a park to let the kids swing and play on the playground. Madison usually falls asleep on the way home. She perches one little leg up and hangs it out of the stroller and just kicks back and zonks. She still just takes short naps twice a day for the most part, and is still waking up around 4:30 for a bottle. She still just drinks it and goes right back to sleep. Thank Heavens! She still has two teeth, and her hair has some curl to it now. She's such a little light in our family, and we are so grateful she joined our family. Love my girl!
I feel like Brooklynn is becoming so grown up these days! She learned how to sing her ABC's almost overnight. She went from singing "ABCD" over and over, to the entire alphabet within two days. It just "Clicked" all of the sudden. She is constantly singing now and it is so adorable to just listen to her. Sometimes I swear she's never not singing. She sings "ABC's, Twinkle Little Star, Old McDonald, and today I heard her singing "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN, and she sings Mary Had A Little Lamb. She also LOVES the song "Shake It Off" from Taylor Swift. Both she and Madison get so happy and excited whenever I turn it on. So funny!
Brooklynn has developed a love for putting puzzles together. I remember watching Maggie when she was about 2 putting puzzles together, and I thought it was so incredible! I found a wooden puzzle set that came with 7 different FROZEN puzzles, and Brooklynn has mastered them and can put them together by herself now. It's so awesome! She's also great at memorizing things. There's a little book at my mom and dad's about Little Miss Muffet, and she can pretty much recite it word for word. She LOVES reading, loves Mickey Mouse, peanut butter M&Ms, cheetos, pickles, playing at the park, wrestling with her sister and her dad, helping in the kitchen, and she loves Yogurt. She will choose greek yogurt for breakfast almost every day.
She sits on the potty before bath time and will usually go pee in the big potty. I bought her a couple stools to use so she can get on the toilet by herself, and wash her hands when she's done, and she has done such a great job! She will tell me when she goes poop, and I'm pretty sure she's ready to be potty trained. It's something I have dreaded since the day she was born, so I am kind of dragging my feet. I decided to wait until we get back from Utah in October to even start potty training. Hopefully she picks it right up, and it doesn't end up being the nightmare that I'm envisioning.
She wants to do everything by herself! She wants to get herself dressed every morning, sometimes she even takes her own diaper off and wipes herself with a wipe and gets out a clean diaper and tries to put it on herself. She wants to open her own yogurt and stir it, put her own shoes on, buckle herself up in her carseat, wash her hair and body in the tub, brush her teeth, put on lipstick when I'm doing my makeup (she'll say "lips", and I know exactly what she wants) help with preparing meals, and SO much more! Sometimes I have to stop and take a deep breath and remind myself that she just wants to be independent, and wants to be involved and helping as much as possible. She loves to help me unload the dishwasher, clean the bathrooms, restock the toilet paper, vacuum, sweep, prepare meals, switch the laundry, help put the groceries in the cart at the store, and unload them at the register, she wants to push Madison in the stroller without help, and I'm sure there's a lot more I'm not thinking of. I try and give her little tasks to do right beside me while I'm doing things around the house, and she usually does a pretty good job! I've learned it saves a lot of frustration and meltdowns if I can just be sure to involve her in what I'm doing. Sometimes tasks take so much longer, but it's teaching me patience..... and hopefully preparing her to one day be able to accomplish the task all on her own.
She still loves going to nursery, and has been so upset she's started crying on weeks when she's been sick or we've been out of town and she hasn't been able to go to nursery. I really hope she always has a love for being at church. She loves when we have Family Home Evening every week too. We always have to end with Joe and I swinging her in the air and singing "wash the dishes" and then we do London Bridges after. It's such a highlight for her. I hope she loves FHE throughout her childhood.
Madison is pulling herself up from seated to standing all the time now, and there are many times when she follows me wherever I go and uses my legs to pull up on and stands right behind me, holding onto my legs. She does this a lot when I'm getting ready or when I'm making dinner. She loves being in the walker too. She runs over all of our heels constantly, and it hurts so much! Sometimes I just watch her and laugh because she'll run super fast and then sit down and just slide in the walker. She's such a happy baby for the most part and pretty easy going. She can also be very stubborn. I have tried letting her cry sometimes to get her to go to sleep if she wakes up after I have rocked her and put her down. She'll just stand up and scream her lungs out until I come get her, and I have to rock her back to sleep. If she wants something, she will be sure to let you know.
She's started crawling in the tub now and she splashes everyone that's near her. Sometimes that causes fighting too, when Brooklynn doesn't want to be splashed. She'll usually just joins right in though. I am usually pretty wet after bath time. Something else that Madison absolutely loves is when Joe or I squeegee the shower after we are done. She sits on the floor and just watches and has THE BIGGEST smile on her face! She's started standing up now and hitting the shower door while I squeegee. It's so funny to see the things that bring your kids so much joy.
She's started showing an interest in looking at books now. She still loves watching Baby Einstein Old McDonald, and still LOVES being outside. We have been going on long walks several times a week and we'll usually stop at a park to let the kids swing and play on the playground. Madison usually falls asleep on the way home. She perches one little leg up and hangs it out of the stroller and just kicks back and zonks. She still just takes short naps twice a day for the most part, and is still waking up around 4:30 for a bottle. She still just drinks it and goes right back to sleep. Thank Heavens! She still has two teeth, and her hair has some curl to it now. She's such a little light in our family, and we are so grateful she joined our family. Love my girl!
I feel like Brooklynn is becoming so grown up these days! She learned how to sing her ABC's almost overnight. She went from singing "ABCD" over and over, to the entire alphabet within two days. It just "Clicked" all of the sudden. She is constantly singing now and it is so adorable to just listen to her. Sometimes I swear she's never not singing. She sings "ABC's, Twinkle Little Star, Old McDonald, and today I heard her singing "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN, and she sings Mary Had A Little Lamb. She also LOVES the song "Shake It Off" from Taylor Swift. Both she and Madison get so happy and excited whenever I turn it on. So funny!
Brooklynn has developed a love for putting puzzles together. I remember watching Maggie when she was about 2 putting puzzles together, and I thought it was so incredible! I found a wooden puzzle set that came with 7 different FROZEN puzzles, and Brooklynn has mastered them and can put them together by herself now. It's so awesome! She's also great at memorizing things. There's a little book at my mom and dad's about Little Miss Muffet, and she can pretty much recite it word for word. She LOVES reading, loves Mickey Mouse, peanut butter M&Ms, cheetos, pickles, playing at the park, wrestling with her sister and her dad, helping in the kitchen, and she loves Yogurt. She will choose greek yogurt for breakfast almost every day.
She sits on the potty before bath time and will usually go pee in the big potty. I bought her a couple stools to use so she can get on the toilet by herself, and wash her hands when she's done, and she has done such a great job! She will tell me when she goes poop, and I'm pretty sure she's ready to be potty trained. It's something I have dreaded since the day she was born, so I am kind of dragging my feet. I decided to wait until we get back from Utah in October to even start potty training. Hopefully she picks it right up, and it doesn't end up being the nightmare that I'm envisioning.
She wants to do everything by herself! She wants to get herself dressed every morning, sometimes she even takes her own diaper off and wipes herself with a wipe and gets out a clean diaper and tries to put it on herself. She wants to open her own yogurt and stir it, put her own shoes on, buckle herself up in her carseat, wash her hair and body in the tub, brush her teeth, put on lipstick when I'm doing my makeup (she'll say "lips", and I know exactly what she wants) help with preparing meals, and SO much more! Sometimes I have to stop and take a deep breath and remind myself that she just wants to be independent, and wants to be involved and helping as much as possible. She loves to help me unload the dishwasher, clean the bathrooms, restock the toilet paper, vacuum, sweep, prepare meals, switch the laundry, help put the groceries in the cart at the store, and unload them at the register, she wants to push Madison in the stroller without help, and I'm sure there's a lot more I'm not thinking of. I try and give her little tasks to do right beside me while I'm doing things around the house, and she usually does a pretty good job! I've learned it saves a lot of frustration and meltdowns if I can just be sure to involve her in what I'm doing. Sometimes tasks take so much longer, but it's teaching me patience..... and hopefully preparing her to one day be able to accomplish the task all on her own.
She still loves going to nursery, and has been so upset she's started crying on weeks when she's been sick or we've been out of town and she hasn't been able to go to nursery. I really hope she always has a love for being at church. She loves when we have Family Home Evening every week too. We always have to end with Joe and I swinging her in the air and singing "wash the dishes" and then we do London Bridges after. It's such a highlight for her. I hope she loves FHE throughout her childhood.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Madison is 8 Months, Brooklyn 28 Months
Ugh, time seriously passes WAY too quickly. I'm behind this month and playing catch up, trying to remember the things about these sweet girls that have grown or changed, or things they love during this stage of their lives. I know I have said it before, but they really are growing up so fast! I feel like I blink and they have grown and changed. Madison is 8 Months old now and enjoying eating baby food. She gags almost every time she tries to eat baby puffs or yogurt puffs, but still eats them. She still doesn't have any teeth. I love her little gummy smile. She's getting better at rolling over and sitting up by herself. She loves Brooklynn so much, and Brooklynn loves her. I love watching them interact. A lot of times, right after dinner, before getting in the tub, they will be so giggly and hyper. I think they are just tired, but during this time they really make each other laugh. Madison thinks anything Brooklynn does is funny, and I just love watching them together. Brooklynn will tickle Madison's tummy, or rub her head on Madison's belly, and plays peek-a-boo with her. She's such a good big sister. She also plays this game where she says "I see you back there!" in this baby voice to Madison, and Madison just cracks up. Madison also thinks it's hilarious when Brooklynn jumps on the bed and then falls on her booty. Sometimes I find myself just watching them and laughing to myself.
Brooklynn is super helpful and is so funny. When I ask her if she'll run grab me a diaper, or wipes, or whatever, she says "Sure!" and runs to get whatever I need. She helps unload the dishwasher, and is constantly saying "I help, I help!" She loves to put ice in everyone's cups before dinner, and will say "my turn" when I sweep or dust mop. She loves to help dump the ajax in the potty when I clean the bathrooms, and she loves to unbutton Madison's pajamas in the morning, and then I will change her diaper and get her ready. They usually wake up around 7 or 7:30 and they get dressed, eat breakfast, and then depending on the day, we either go to the gym, or they watch Mickey Mouse while I work out at home. They both love going to the gym care. Neither of them have ever cried when I have left them, and that has made it really easy for me to go so frequently.
They both LOVE being in the water, whether it's the splash pad, the pool, or the bath tub. I'm so glad they love it, because that is how we survive the hot summers here in Texas.
Brooklynn is super helpful and is so funny. When I ask her if she'll run grab me a diaper, or wipes, or whatever, she says "Sure!" and runs to get whatever I need. She helps unload the dishwasher, and is constantly saying "I help, I help!" She loves to put ice in everyone's cups before dinner, and will say "my turn" when I sweep or dust mop. She loves to help dump the ajax in the potty when I clean the bathrooms, and she loves to unbutton Madison's pajamas in the morning, and then I will change her diaper and get her ready. They usually wake up around 7 or 7:30 and they get dressed, eat breakfast, and then depending on the day, we either go to the gym, or they watch Mickey Mouse while I work out at home. They both love going to the gym care. Neither of them have ever cried when I have left them, and that has made it really easy for me to go so frequently.
They both LOVE being in the water, whether it's the splash pad, the pool, or the bath tub. I'm so glad they love it, because that is how we survive the hot summers here in Texas.
Brooklynn is 27 Months and Madison is 7 Months
As much as I don't want them to grow up, it is really fun to watch our sweet girls grow and change and learn new things. This month Brooklynn has gotten a lot better at learning her colors. I frequently ask her "what color is this?" Or "What color is that?" and I'll pull out m&ms a few times a week and she has to tell me what color they are to get to eat them. If she gets it wrong, I get to eat it=). She is also learning how to count with her fingers. I started singing songs like "5 Little Speckled Frogs" "5 Little Ducks Went Out To Play" and "5 Little Monkeys" and she gets so excited when we sing these songs. I'll hold my fingers up and count down as I sing, and she'll look at my fingers, and try to do the same with hers and say "Mommy! See me?!" She gets so excited when she does it. She has started saying "Thanks!" a lot, and "Sure?!" or "Sure!". I noticed that I say that to her a lot, and apparently she has picked it up. She is obsessed with mints and has to eat at least one on a daily basis. She's still a great eater, and has a newfound love for lemonade. She loves to get it when we go to Chic fila. She only gets milk or water at home, so it's a fun treat for her. Last night we had a bunch of friends over for a bbq, and we had lemonade in a water cooler. I don't know if she left that water cooler for more than 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure she drank about 6 little cups full, and she was asking for it this morning at breakfast. Besides loving lemonade, she still loves yogurt, and I have recently introduced her to honey nut cheerios with some diced up fruit on it for breakfast, and she's a big fan.
She has become a little fish this summer. When we went to Florida this year, there was a pool right near our beach house, and she and Millie loved to go swim, and I think it really helped her to see Millie wearing her little Puddle Jumper Floaty and watching how she swam. I didn't think I was going to be able to take the girls to the neighborhood pool by myself this summer, but Brooklynn is really doing so great with her floaty on, that it's actually not difficult for me at all. She loves jumping in, doing belly flops, and floating on her back. She's always saying "Mommy, see me?!" She also loves going down the little slides and stuff at the neighborhood pool.
Brooklynn is such a great big sister. She's always taking care of Madison and gives her toys or goes over to play with her if she starts fussing. She loves ripping the snaps open on her pjs every morning and she's even tried to take her diaper off and help change her. Ha ha! Today she popped a wheat thin in Madison's mouth too because she didn't want her to be hungry. Gotta keep my eye on that girl!
She loves to dance and hop around like bunny. The nickname my mom always had for me growing up was "Bunny" because I used to always hop around. Maybe it runs in the genes=) I have been taking her to a bounce house nearby, and she is in heaven there!
She'll say She LOVES Mickey Mouse! I got her a mickey and mini mouse shirt, and you'd have thought I had given her the most incredible gift ever! She was SO excited, and she frequently wears that shirt when I let her pick out her outfit. She is no longer obsessed with Elmo, it's Mickey's Clubhouse and any of the characters from it.
She has been telling me for a couple months now, whenever she goes #2 in her diaper, and before bath time I usually always set her on the "big potty" and she'll usually go pee pee before bath time! I'm hoping after our Utah trip in a couple of weeks, we can jump in and start potty training and she'll catch on. Fingers Crossed.
She still absolutely LOVES church! Well, nursery! She kind of struggles in Sacrament Meeting, but she's getting a little bit better. One of her nursery teachers is Sister Staples, and she also plays the organ in Sacrament Meeting. Today Brooklynn leaned over and pointed and said "See Sister Staples?" She loves her teachers.
I'm lucky that she still naps for about 1.5-2 hours a day. I always try to take the kids to do something fun that they'll enjoy, at least once a day. So usually our window is between 11-1, after Madison's first nap, and before lunch and afternoon naps. She's usually worn out and lets me sing her some songs and rock her to sleep still. The other day I was just looking at her in my arms, after she'd fallen asleep and just feeling grateful that she's always let me rock her to sleep. She has really grown up SO quickly, and I cherish that time I've had to just hold and cuddle her every day. For naps I sing to her until she falls asleep, but at night I'll let her choose 3 or 4 songs, and she has this cute way she looks up at me and says "Mommy, say the songs." and I'll list off the songs for her, and she'll choose which ones I sing to her. She loves I am a Child of God, Choose the Right, I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, Popcorn Popping, Old McDonald, Frosty, Jingle Bells, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and many more.
I just love this sweet girl so much! She's been so good lately, and rarely has to go to time-out. She listens and obeys really well, she's a great helper, and so much fun to be around. I really cannot imagine my life without these sweet children. Being a mom is so difficult at times. I feel drained physically, emotionally, spiritually, at times and feel like I have nothing left to give, but somehow, the next day I'm able to wake up and do it all over again. I will always be eternally grateful that I've been able to stay home with my children. It's such a wonderful blessing.
Madison is growing like a little weed. She loves her big sister, going for walks in the stroller, and just being outside. Sometimes in the afternoons when she's fussy, I will just put her in her high chair and put her on the back patio with Brooklynn, and she immediately calms down.
She's able to sit up by herself, but still not a pro at it. She loves her bouncer and sitting in the high chair. She doesn't really use the swing much anymore, which is sad. It just means she's growing up too quickly. She's holding her own bottle. She isn't crawling yet and doesn't have any teeth yet either. She loves baby food but still hates peas and green beans, and gags every time I have given them to her. She also hasn't really mastered how to eat the baby puffs yet. She seems to gag or choke every time I give her some of those. Madison still drinks 6 ounces of formula every 3 hours or so.
She loves being rocked to sleep, but hates when I try to sing to her still. She's also not big on books, which is the complete opposite of how Brooklynn was. She LOVES the water, and was completely in heaven at the beach in Florida this summer. She does try to put everything in her mouth though, and of course ended up eating some sand. She loves to be in her little floaty at the pool, and loves bath time.
She still wakes up around 4:30 or 5am for a bottle. It seems like I will never get a full straight 8 hours of sleep=). She also still only takes short naps, about 30 minutes to an hour, if I'm lucky. She does nap twice a day thankfully though. Neither of my girls have ever taken long naps. Braden is almost 4 and still naps for 3 hours a day! I feel like I will never have a child that does that.
Madison loves Baby Einstein, and usually watches a show once a day while I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Just like when Brooklynn was her age, her favorite episode is Old McDonald. Since Madison naps for a shorter period, I usually put her down last so that theres at least a small window where they are both asleep, and I can get a minute to myself. When I come down from putting Brooklynn down, Madison is always completely engrossed in her show. It makes me laugh sometimes and I'll just sit there and watch her=)
I'm not going to lie, raising these munchkins is a lot of work. Sometimes it's so hard to stay patient, and there are some days I feel like walking out the front door and not coming back for a few weeks, but somehow we always make it through the day. Joe has been traveling a lot with his new position, and Im at home by myself with the girls for 3 to 4 days a week sometimes. By the time he gets home, I am pretty much completely done and need some time to myself so that I can regroup for the next day and week. This isn't really what I imagined when I pictured our family before we started having kids, but I am thankful for Joe's job and that he's able to provide so well for our family and that I don't have to work and can be home with my girls. I just need to learn how to be more patient. Hopefully I can learn to master that while he's gone. Yikes=)
She has become a little fish this summer. When we went to Florida this year, there was a pool right near our beach house, and she and Millie loved to go swim, and I think it really helped her to see Millie wearing her little Puddle Jumper Floaty and watching how she swam. I didn't think I was going to be able to take the girls to the neighborhood pool by myself this summer, but Brooklynn is really doing so great with her floaty on, that it's actually not difficult for me at all. She loves jumping in, doing belly flops, and floating on her back. She's always saying "Mommy, see me?!" She also loves going down the little slides and stuff at the neighborhood pool.
Brooklynn is such a great big sister. She's always taking care of Madison and gives her toys or goes over to play with her if she starts fussing. She loves ripping the snaps open on her pjs every morning and she's even tried to take her diaper off and help change her. Ha ha! Today she popped a wheat thin in Madison's mouth too because she didn't want her to be hungry. Gotta keep my eye on that girl!
She loves to dance and hop around like bunny. The nickname my mom always had for me growing up was "Bunny" because I used to always hop around. Maybe it runs in the genes=) I have been taking her to a bounce house nearby, and she is in heaven there!
She'll say She LOVES Mickey Mouse! I got her a mickey and mini mouse shirt, and you'd have thought I had given her the most incredible gift ever! She was SO excited, and she frequently wears that shirt when I let her pick out her outfit. She is no longer obsessed with Elmo, it's Mickey's Clubhouse and any of the characters from it.
She has been telling me for a couple months now, whenever she goes #2 in her diaper, and before bath time I usually always set her on the "big potty" and she'll usually go pee pee before bath time! I'm hoping after our Utah trip in a couple of weeks, we can jump in and start potty training and she'll catch on. Fingers Crossed.
She still absolutely LOVES church! Well, nursery! She kind of struggles in Sacrament Meeting, but she's getting a little bit better. One of her nursery teachers is Sister Staples, and she also plays the organ in Sacrament Meeting. Today Brooklynn leaned over and pointed and said "See Sister Staples?" She loves her teachers.
I'm lucky that she still naps for about 1.5-2 hours a day. I always try to take the kids to do something fun that they'll enjoy, at least once a day. So usually our window is between 11-1, after Madison's first nap, and before lunch and afternoon naps. She's usually worn out and lets me sing her some songs and rock her to sleep still. The other day I was just looking at her in my arms, after she'd fallen asleep and just feeling grateful that she's always let me rock her to sleep. She has really grown up SO quickly, and I cherish that time I've had to just hold and cuddle her every day. For naps I sing to her until she falls asleep, but at night I'll let her choose 3 or 4 songs, and she has this cute way she looks up at me and says "Mommy, say the songs." and I'll list off the songs for her, and she'll choose which ones I sing to her. She loves I am a Child of God, Choose the Right, I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, Popcorn Popping, Old McDonald, Frosty, Jingle Bells, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and many more.
I just love this sweet girl so much! She's been so good lately, and rarely has to go to time-out. She listens and obeys really well, she's a great helper, and so much fun to be around. I really cannot imagine my life without these sweet children. Being a mom is so difficult at times. I feel drained physically, emotionally, spiritually, at times and feel like I have nothing left to give, but somehow, the next day I'm able to wake up and do it all over again. I will always be eternally grateful that I've been able to stay home with my children. It's such a wonderful blessing.
Madison is growing like a little weed. She loves her big sister, going for walks in the stroller, and just being outside. Sometimes in the afternoons when she's fussy, I will just put her in her high chair and put her on the back patio with Brooklynn, and she immediately calms down.
She's able to sit up by herself, but still not a pro at it. She loves her bouncer and sitting in the high chair. She doesn't really use the swing much anymore, which is sad. It just means she's growing up too quickly. She's holding her own bottle. She isn't crawling yet and doesn't have any teeth yet either. She loves baby food but still hates peas and green beans, and gags every time I have given them to her. She also hasn't really mastered how to eat the baby puffs yet. She seems to gag or choke every time I give her some of those. Madison still drinks 6 ounces of formula every 3 hours or so.
She loves being rocked to sleep, but hates when I try to sing to her still. She's also not big on books, which is the complete opposite of how Brooklynn was. She LOVES the water, and was completely in heaven at the beach in Florida this summer. She does try to put everything in her mouth though, and of course ended up eating some sand. She loves to be in her little floaty at the pool, and loves bath time.
She still wakes up around 4:30 or 5am for a bottle. It seems like I will never get a full straight 8 hours of sleep=). She also still only takes short naps, about 30 minutes to an hour, if I'm lucky. She does nap twice a day thankfully though. Neither of my girls have ever taken long naps. Braden is almost 4 and still naps for 3 hours a day! I feel like I will never have a child that does that.
Madison loves Baby Einstein, and usually watches a show once a day while I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Just like when Brooklynn was her age, her favorite episode is Old McDonald. Since Madison naps for a shorter period, I usually put her down last so that theres at least a small window where they are both asleep, and I can get a minute to myself. When I come down from putting Brooklynn down, Madison is always completely engrossed in her show. It makes me laugh sometimes and I'll just sit there and watch her=)
I'm not going to lie, raising these munchkins is a lot of work. Sometimes it's so hard to stay patient, and there are some days I feel like walking out the front door and not coming back for a few weeks, but somehow we always make it through the day. Joe has been traveling a lot with his new position, and Im at home by myself with the girls for 3 to 4 days a week sometimes. By the time he gets home, I am pretty much completely done and need some time to myself so that I can regroup for the next day and week. This isn't really what I imagined when I pictured our family before we started having kids, but I am thankful for Joe's job and that he's able to provide so well for our family and that I don't have to work and can be home with my girls. I just need to learn how to be more patient. Hopefully I can learn to master that while he's gone. Yikes=)
Sunday, July 12, 2015
I can't believe my baby girl is already 6 months old!! I feel like the first 6 months of her life went by much faster than Brooklynn's first 6 months, and I thought hers went by really quickly. It must be because I am constantly busy with two kids now, that the time just seems to fly by at lightning speed.
Madison started eating baby food just about a week after she turned 6 months old. We fed her rice cereal for about a day, then just started giving her veggies, then introduced fruit about a week later. She gagged when I gave her peas or green beans, and I still haven't gone back to those, but she seems to like everything else. Watching her eat from a spoon made me laugh almost every time I gave her a bite. It was all so new and unfamiliar to her. She would stick her tongue out after every bite I gave her, and basically spit out all the food too. It took a long time to get through those first few feedings, but it was so fun to watch her learn a new skill. Her little hand would rest on my hand that was holding the spoon, and she would basically try and control my hand. So funny! She went from sticking out her tongue, to biting on the spoon after every bite. I think it felt really good on her gums to just chomp down on that rubber spoon. Now she's a pro at eating from a spoon. Still no teeth yet, but I can feel a couple that just haven't broken through the gum yet.
She also learned how to roll over from her back to her belly, but would always have one arm stuck under her. I'll admit that I probably don't lay her down on the floor as much as I should. With every roll, she would start fussing once she got to her belly, because one arm was still stuck, and I end up having to go save her every 2 minutes or so. She's gotten a lot better at sitting up in the grocery carts, or on the floor. I still have to be right there in case she starts to topple over, but she's getting better at it!
She absolutely loves the water, loves when I sing "Ring Around the Rosie"(I can pretty much get her to stop whining whenever I start singing that. She will look at me, and get the biggest smile. Don't know what caused her love for that song.) She loves to suck on the rag in the bathtub, loves being tickled, she kicks her little feet around all the time. She's started pulling my hair(Awesome for me!) and if Brooklynn lays her head on Madison's belly when she's laying down, it's only a matter of time before Madison pulls her hair too. She loves being outside. Sometimes right around 4pm she starts getting really whiny and I can just open the back door and stick her outside on the patio in her high chair, and she calms right down and will be content just sitting there for a while.
She'll only go to sleep for me these days. I have to plan things around her nap/bedtime so that I make sure I am always there to be able to put her down for a nap, or the night. Just last week I had to run home from a Relief Society Activity because every time Joe would try to lay her in her bassinet she would wake up. Thankfully she had fallen asleep in his arms again and all I had to do was take her from him and lay her in her bassinet.
She has learned how to scream and sometimes she does it just for entertainment. She really is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. When she gets tired she gets in this kind of hyper mood, and it's so easy to make her laugh. She really has the cutest little laugh. Brooklynn makes her laugh more than anyone else, and when those two get going, I just have to sit back and watch them and laugh myself. I really hope with all my heart that they have a close, strong friendship throughout their lives and that they are always there for each other the way my sister and I are.
Everyone says she looks just like Joe, and people now think Brooklynn looks more like me since they've seen how much Madison looks like Joe. She definitely has his genes because she can go off of little sleep, at least during the day, and she's also pretty regular when it comes to going #2. I swear her dad goes like clockwork at the same time every morning, and she does too. Pretty much every morning after she wakes up, she's got a nice surprise for me. At least we get it out of the way at the beginning of the day=)
Brooklynn is such a little sweetheart too, and I am just in awe sometimes when she's playing or when we are in the car and she's rambling, and I tune in to what she's saying, she really is picking things up quickly and learning a lot. She loves counting, and she's pretty good at saying the numbers, and now points to things and counts them pretty well for the most part. She's also just taken an interest in holding the right number of fingers up sometimes when she counts. She's really good at 1 and 5. ha ha! When I put her down for her nap or bed, I sing to her, and one of the songs is "Five Little Ducks Went Out To Play" and as I sing I hold up my fingers and count down. She sticks her little hand up too and will say "Mommy, help me!" and wants me to help her get the right number of fingers up.
Madison started eating baby food just about a week after she turned 6 months old. We fed her rice cereal for about a day, then just started giving her veggies, then introduced fruit about a week later. She gagged when I gave her peas or green beans, and I still haven't gone back to those, but she seems to like everything else. Watching her eat from a spoon made me laugh almost every time I gave her a bite. It was all so new and unfamiliar to her. She would stick her tongue out after every bite I gave her, and basically spit out all the food too. It took a long time to get through those first few feedings, but it was so fun to watch her learn a new skill. Her little hand would rest on my hand that was holding the spoon, and she would basically try and control my hand. So funny! She went from sticking out her tongue, to biting on the spoon after every bite. I think it felt really good on her gums to just chomp down on that rubber spoon. Now she's a pro at eating from a spoon. Still no teeth yet, but I can feel a couple that just haven't broken through the gum yet.
She also learned how to roll over from her back to her belly, but would always have one arm stuck under her. I'll admit that I probably don't lay her down on the floor as much as I should. With every roll, she would start fussing once she got to her belly, because one arm was still stuck, and I end up having to go save her every 2 minutes or so. She's gotten a lot better at sitting up in the grocery carts, or on the floor. I still have to be right there in case she starts to topple over, but she's getting better at it!
She absolutely loves the water, loves when I sing "Ring Around the Rosie"(I can pretty much get her to stop whining whenever I start singing that. She will look at me, and get the biggest smile. Don't know what caused her love for that song.) She loves to suck on the rag in the bathtub, loves being tickled, she kicks her little feet around all the time. She's started pulling my hair(Awesome for me!) and if Brooklynn lays her head on Madison's belly when she's laying down, it's only a matter of time before Madison pulls her hair too. She loves being outside. Sometimes right around 4pm she starts getting really whiny and I can just open the back door and stick her outside on the patio in her high chair, and she calms right down and will be content just sitting there for a while.
She'll only go to sleep for me these days. I have to plan things around her nap/bedtime so that I make sure I am always there to be able to put her down for a nap, or the night. Just last week I had to run home from a Relief Society Activity because every time Joe would try to lay her in her bassinet she would wake up. Thankfully she had fallen asleep in his arms again and all I had to do was take her from him and lay her in her bassinet.
She has learned how to scream and sometimes she does it just for entertainment. She really is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. When she gets tired she gets in this kind of hyper mood, and it's so easy to make her laugh. She really has the cutest little laugh. Brooklynn makes her laugh more than anyone else, and when those two get going, I just have to sit back and watch them and laugh myself. I really hope with all my heart that they have a close, strong friendship throughout their lives and that they are always there for each other the way my sister and I are.
Everyone says she looks just like Joe, and people now think Brooklynn looks more like me since they've seen how much Madison looks like Joe. She definitely has his genes because she can go off of little sleep, at least during the day, and she's also pretty regular when it comes to going #2. I swear her dad goes like clockwork at the same time every morning, and she does too. Pretty much every morning after she wakes up, she's got a nice surprise for me. At least we get it out of the way at the beginning of the day=)
Brooklynn is such a little sweetheart too, and I am just in awe sometimes when she's playing or when we are in the car and she's rambling, and I tune in to what she's saying, she really is picking things up quickly and learning a lot. She loves counting, and she's pretty good at saying the numbers, and now points to things and counts them pretty well for the most part. She's also just taken an interest in holding the right number of fingers up sometimes when she counts. She's really good at 1 and 5. ha ha! When I put her down for her nap or bed, I sing to her, and one of the songs is "Five Little Ducks Went Out To Play" and as I sing I hold up my fingers and count down. She sticks her little hand up too and will say "Mommy, help me!" and wants me to help her get the right number of fingers up.
She's such an incredible sister to Madison, and I really couldn't be more grateful for how much they love each other. They both get SO happy in the morning when they see each other after a long night of being apart. Madison will squeal and kick her feet when she see's Brooklynn. Brooklynn loves helping take Madison's jammies off in the morning(ripping the buttons open), choosing her baby food, getting her toys when they fall off of her tray, trying to entertain her when she's fussy, and so much more. She'll play peek-a-boo with her, and she tickles her all the time, and then she'll say "Madison, you like that?" and just giggle. It really is super cute.
She's working on her colors, and I think it's finally starting to sink in a bit. At first she would just say "green" to everything I would ask the color of. She LOVES m&ms(M&Mies) so I started giving her an m&m if she could tell me what color it was. If she got it right she got to eat it, if she got it wrong, I did!=) I got to eat a lot of m&ms in the beginning, but she's gotten a lot better and now I rarely do! We've also been doing flash cards, and I think her Mickey Mouse show is teaching her some colors too. I just love watching her learn new things.
She'll say cute things like "Mom, you done?" or "Mom, what are you doin'?" She still says "I do it!" to almost everything. She loves to do her make up, and will take my little blender sponge or my brushes and rub them all over her face. She loves putting on lipgloss too and will say "lips mom?" and that's her asking if she can put my lipgloss on. She's very obedient for the most part, and she also has some ocd for cleanliness like her dad. I can't really complain though. She doesn't like to be messy, but she seriously is one of the messiest eaters. She's gotten a little bit better, but thank heavens the girl wears a bib.
She's obsessed with Mickey Mouse. I ordered her a Mickey and Mini Shirt, and she was absolutely thrilled when she and Joe opened it. She was SO excited and couldn't wait until morning to wear it.
She's a wonderful eater. There isn't much she won't try or eat. She LOVES greek yogurt, eggs, tuna, most fruits, pasta, beans of any kind, and so much more. She'll usually eat whatever we eat, which is so nice. I have learned to just put a bite of things she hasn't been fond of, on her plate whenever I eat it, and she's actually learned to like things she didn't used to like, such as tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, rice, and I'm sure there's more. She actually wasn't a big fan of white rice until I put some Ketchup on it, like Uncle Loa and Aunt Vicki gave us growing up. Joe said his mom was rolling over in her grave. ha ha!
She loves church so much, and it really makes Joe and me so happy! Even just seeing the building whenever we drive by, she yells out "Church!!!" She mentioned Sister Staples, who is one of her Nursery Teachers, during the week this week. She's never done that before. Sister Staples and Sister West are her nursery leaders now and they both love her so much. I took her to nursery today and Sister West said "I have missed you all so much!" and Brooklynn ran and gave her a great big hug. When the closing hymn starts during sacrament meeting, Brooklynn gets so excited and yells out "all done!" and can't wait to go to nursery. We went and helped clean the church yesterday as a family, with some other families in the ward, and Brooklynn stayed right by my side and helped me clean all the glass doors. She sprayed the cleaner, helped wipe it off, and then she collected all the used paper towels and put them in a trash bag. She's such a good helper. She helps me unload the dishwasher, clean bathrooms, get dinner ready, helps pick weeds or rake, helps wash the car, helps me with Madison, and so much more. I'm so grateful that she's so eager and willing to work. I am really grateful that my parents instilled a good worth ethic in me and my siblings, and I really want to make sure that I pass that on to my kids.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Brooklynn turns 2 and Madison is 5 Months
Another month has quickly gone by! My sweet little first born is now 2 years old! I really have a hard time believing it! I swear she was just a teenie tiny baby sleeping in my arms yesterday, and now she's almost too big to sleep in my arms comfortably. She'll still let me rock her for a little bit, so I'm thankful I haven't had to give that up yet. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.
We decided to have her big birthday party in Utah with family this year since we were going to be there so close to her birthday! It ended up being so much fun, and she really enjoyed herself! I decided to do a theme that she loves this year, and that was Elmo! Brittany R. Griffin taught me how to make fondant and decorate an Elmo Cake, and it turned out incredibly cute! I cut out the circles and letters for the birthday banner before we went, and spent a couple evenings after the girls had gone to bed, putting it together. Tiff taught me how to make chocolate dipped Oreos and put them on sticks with little Elmo faces, and they turned out adorable and delicious. We had her party at Joseph and Brittany's house and we got pizzas from Costco, salad, and fruit for dinner.
It was so much fun to watch her be surrounded by all of her cousins and to have the spotlight on her for a little bit. She loved opening presents, and after she opened one, she would run over to whomever got it for her and give them a great big hug! It was so cute to watch! After presents we sang and had cake and ice cream. We had been practicing singing Happy Birthday and pretending to blow out the candles and she would constantly say "Happy Birthday to You!" When it came time for the real thing she got a little shy at first and reached out for me to hold her when everyone started singing, but as the song went on and it came time to blow the candles, she was excited and did a great job blowing them out all by herself! I loved watching her interact with my family. Everyone loves her so much, and she's crazy about all of them. We have been home for a week now, and she's still talking about not wanting to go to our house, but to go to Korver's House or Grandad's House. She's always talking about Aunt Tiff and Braden and Grandma and Granddad. She really loved spending time with all of her Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents.
Today was her two year check-up. She weighed in at 29lbs 6oz, 35.25 inches(Dr Kennedy said she's on track to be about 5'10'' depending on when puberty hits) and her head size is 19.75in. They took her into a regular exam room instead of the baby room this time. It about broke my heart! She's growing up too quickly. She had to get 1 shot today and she was so brave and didn't even cry. All she said was "ouch!" and then it was over. She's so grown up!
She's such a little light! I seriously miss her at night when she's asleep! I love walking into her room every morning and saying "Good Morning" and watching her little head pop up in her crib! Lately she wants me to set Madison on her back every morning. She'll turn on her stomach and say "Madison back", and I have to set madison on her back for a few minutes. I don't know where she got that from, but it's pretty funny, and just like everything else, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she doesn't do it anymore. We've taken away her binki during the day, and today the pediatrician told me we need to take it away at night too because it's affecting her teeth. Hopefully it goes as well as taking it away during the day.
*Update(next day) I talked to Brooklynn about giving her binki up today. I asked her if she would want to go to the store and pick out a new toy, and explained that to get to do this she would need to give all her binkis to the cashier. We talked about her being a big girl now and not needing a binki anymore. She was excited about the idea of getting to "buy" a toy with her binkis. After her nap today, I packed up all her binkis in a ziplock bag and we headed to Walmart to pick out a toy. She wanted to hold the bag of binkis on the drive there, and she asked if she could use one. Since it would be her last moments with her binkis I told her she could. I'm not gonna lie, as I was looking back at her in the rear view mirror, I felt a little bit sad that those would be my last moments seeing her with that cute little purple binki in her mouth. My baby is growing up, and I'm not sure how much I like it. When we got to Walmart she put her binki back in the bag and we headed inside to the toy isles. She found a bottle of bubbles with a Mini Mouse head on it that she wanted, a little Goofy plush doll, and a big pink bouncy ball. When we got up to the register there was a sweet little older lady at one of the registers, with nobody in her line, so I let Brooklynn set her toys on the belt and explained to the cashier that she was buying those toys, and that she was going to pay for them with her binkis. The lady smiled and said "oh, okay!" and was so sweet about it. She put the bubbles and Goofy doll in their own bag and handed them to Brooklynn. Brooklynn was so excited!! I had the woman just stick the bag of binkis in one of the sacks where Bookie wouldn't see them, I paid for the rest of our things, and we were on our way. She held her new toys on the way home, and couldn't wait to go out and blow bubbles and get Goofy out of the package.
I decided to put her to sleep tonight instead of Joe, so I could talk to her and sing to her before she went to sleep. When I sat down in the rocking chair with her and her blanket, she asked for a binki, and I had to remind her that we gave her binkis to the lady at the store. She immediately said "Goofy" and knew that we had gotten Goofy because she gave her binkies to the lady at the store. She asked for it a couple more times and she sat up several times and looked around her crib for one, but eventually fell asleep.
** It's been over a week now, and she's doing just fine without a binki. It takes her longer to fall asleep for naps sometimes, but she's still able to fall asleep. She adjusted just fine! She did find a binki in our recliner the other day when I was feeding Madison. I'm glad it was later in the week and not the first couple of days after we took it away, or she would have wanted it. I just told her "You're a big girl now, you don't use binkies anymore." and she didn't have any problems with me taking it away.
Some things that she's doing or saying now are "My Friends" she calls her cousins or the kids at church her friends. She's started saying "no" to a lot of things I say. Especially when I ask her to do something. She wants to put ice in her own cup, put her own pants and shoes on, brush her own teeth, and wash her own hair and body. She pretty much says "I do it!!" all the time throughout the day. Sometimes it drives me bonkers by the end of the day because a lot of the time I will be helping her and she'll say "I do it!!" and then she tries and two seconds later says "help!" I guess it's a good thing that she's at least trying, but man, it's hard to stay patient with her sometimes! =)
She's completely in love with Mickey's Clubhouse show, and anything to do with any of the characters from the show. We went to a bounce place in Dallas with Addie, Jack, and Millie, and there was a blow up thing with Mini on it and she kept wanting to go in that one because of it. She wasn't drinking her milk when we took her bottles away after her 2 year appointment. She just would not drink it from a big girl cup for some reason. So, we went to Target and got her a new Mini Mouse pop top bottle and she's actually been drinking some milk now! She loves Minnie Mouse so much! She usually watches the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show while I work out, and then one before bed with Daddy. Definitely a highlight in her day!
She still loves church so much! Whenever we even drive past the church she yells out "church, church!" She starts saying "my friends" during the closing hymn at church on Sunday, and then she walks right to class with Joe or me in tow. Joe reads scriptures with her every night while I put Madison down, and we have also been pretty good at having Family Home Evening during the week. She loves it! She loves learning, and loves the games we play after. Her favorites are when we play "Ashes Rosie" (Ring Around the Rosie) and when Joe and I swing her and sing "Wash the Dishes, Dry the Dishes, Turn the Dishes Over." That's something I remember doing with my parents after FHE when I was young. Crazy that I'm doing it with my own kids now!
Brooklynn is such a sweet girl, and I consider myself very lucky and blessed to be her mom.
Madison is a little light to our family. She's such a happy, smiley baby and she pretty much just goes with the flow! She loves spending time outside. I've been taking the girls out for a walk a couple times a week, and she is absolutely in heaven just riding in the stroller, looking around, and soaking in the outdoors. She's still only napping for about 30 minutes 2 to 3 times a day, so sometimes she can be whiny and I know it's because she's not getting enough sleep.
She loves Brooklynn so much! She gets so excited when we walk into Brooklynn's room every morning. She'll smile so big and starts trying to kick her feet and laughs and smiles. I love seeing how much those two girls love each other. She's loving her little bouncer, and sometimes she just goes nuts jumping in it. It's really funny to just sit and watch her sometimes. She's sitting up in the high chair to play with toys, and she's attempting to roll over when I lay her on her little kicky mat to play. She's always got something in her mouth, whether its a toy, or her hands. Her grip is getting stronger, and she's started to pull things. If she's upset she will make sure to let me know. I call her my little Drama Queen, because she'll whine really loud, and then she starts doing this little fake cough like she's going to die if I don't feed her, or pick her up, or change her diaper in the next 2 seconds. She's learning how to get what she wants, and she can't even talk yet! Heaven help me!=)
I sat her up in the grocery cart at Costco with Brooklynn the other day, and she absolutely loved it. She loves watching Baby Einstein "Old McDonald" when I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Since Madison sleeps for a shorter amount of time, I put her down for a nap after Brooklynn, so that I can get about 30 minutes of quiet time to myself. So, after lunch I usually put Madison in her swing and turn on her show, and then head upstairs to put Brooklynn down for a nap. It's so funny how much both of my girls have totally gotten engrossed in that show. I'll come downstairs and she's concentrating so hard, it's funny!
She's still a great eater, and a good sleeper(at night) and she absolutely loves taking a bath. She usually goes down for the night around 6:30 or 7 and then I'll wake her up and feed her right before I go to bed, and then she usually wakes up around 4:30 or 5 for another feeding and she'll go right back down and sleep until 6 or 7.
She loves standing up, and since she's obsessed with her bouncer, a lot of times she'll just start jumping right on my lap when I'm holding her. So funny! I can't imagine my life, or our family without her and we are so grateful for her sweet little spirit! She's growing up so fast! I swear it seems like these first 6 months of her life have flown by WAY faster than the first 6 of Brooklynn's, and it seemed like Brooklynn's went by pretty quickly!
We decided to have her big birthday party in Utah with family this year since we were going to be there so close to her birthday! It ended up being so much fun, and she really enjoyed herself! I decided to do a theme that she loves this year, and that was Elmo! Brittany R. Griffin taught me how to make fondant and decorate an Elmo Cake, and it turned out incredibly cute! I cut out the circles and letters for the birthday banner before we went, and spent a couple evenings after the girls had gone to bed, putting it together. Tiff taught me how to make chocolate dipped Oreos and put them on sticks with little Elmo faces, and they turned out adorable and delicious. We had her party at Joseph and Brittany's house and we got pizzas from Costco, salad, and fruit for dinner.
It was so much fun to watch her be surrounded by all of her cousins and to have the spotlight on her for a little bit. She loved opening presents, and after she opened one, she would run over to whomever got it for her and give them a great big hug! It was so cute to watch! After presents we sang and had cake and ice cream. We had been practicing singing Happy Birthday and pretending to blow out the candles and she would constantly say "Happy Birthday to You!" When it came time for the real thing she got a little shy at first and reached out for me to hold her when everyone started singing, but as the song went on and it came time to blow the candles, she was excited and did a great job blowing them out all by herself! I loved watching her interact with my family. Everyone loves her so much, and she's crazy about all of them. We have been home for a week now, and she's still talking about not wanting to go to our house, but to go to Korver's House or Grandad's House. She's always talking about Aunt Tiff and Braden and Grandma and Granddad. She really loved spending time with all of her Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents.
Today was her two year check-up. She weighed in at 29lbs 6oz, 35.25 inches(Dr Kennedy said she's on track to be about 5'10'' depending on when puberty hits) and her head size is 19.75in. They took her into a regular exam room instead of the baby room this time. It about broke my heart! She's growing up too quickly. She had to get 1 shot today and she was so brave and didn't even cry. All she said was "ouch!" and then it was over. She's so grown up!
She's such a little light! I seriously miss her at night when she's asleep! I love walking into her room every morning and saying "Good Morning" and watching her little head pop up in her crib! Lately she wants me to set Madison on her back every morning. She'll turn on her stomach and say "Madison back", and I have to set madison on her back for a few minutes. I don't know where she got that from, but it's pretty funny, and just like everything else, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she doesn't do it anymore. We've taken away her binki during the day, and today the pediatrician told me we need to take it away at night too because it's affecting her teeth. Hopefully it goes as well as taking it away during the day.
*Update(next day) I talked to Brooklynn about giving her binki up today. I asked her if she would want to go to the store and pick out a new toy, and explained that to get to do this she would need to give all her binkis to the cashier. We talked about her being a big girl now and not needing a binki anymore. She was excited about the idea of getting to "buy" a toy with her binkis. After her nap today, I packed up all her binkis in a ziplock bag and we headed to Walmart to pick out a toy. She wanted to hold the bag of binkis on the drive there, and she asked if she could use one. Since it would be her last moments with her binkis I told her she could. I'm not gonna lie, as I was looking back at her in the rear view mirror, I felt a little bit sad that those would be my last moments seeing her with that cute little purple binki in her mouth. My baby is growing up, and I'm not sure how much I like it. When we got to Walmart she put her binki back in the bag and we headed inside to the toy isles. She found a bottle of bubbles with a Mini Mouse head on it that she wanted, a little Goofy plush doll, and a big pink bouncy ball. When we got up to the register there was a sweet little older lady at one of the registers, with nobody in her line, so I let Brooklynn set her toys on the belt and explained to the cashier that she was buying those toys, and that she was going to pay for them with her binkis. The lady smiled and said "oh, okay!" and was so sweet about it. She put the bubbles and Goofy doll in their own bag and handed them to Brooklynn. Brooklynn was so excited!! I had the woman just stick the bag of binkis in one of the sacks where Bookie wouldn't see them, I paid for the rest of our things, and we were on our way. She held her new toys on the way home, and couldn't wait to go out and blow bubbles and get Goofy out of the package.
I decided to put her to sleep tonight instead of Joe, so I could talk to her and sing to her before she went to sleep. When I sat down in the rocking chair with her and her blanket, she asked for a binki, and I had to remind her that we gave her binkis to the lady at the store. She immediately said "Goofy" and knew that we had gotten Goofy because she gave her binkies to the lady at the store. She asked for it a couple more times and she sat up several times and looked around her crib for one, but eventually fell asleep.
** It's been over a week now, and she's doing just fine without a binki. It takes her longer to fall asleep for naps sometimes, but she's still able to fall asleep. She adjusted just fine! She did find a binki in our recliner the other day when I was feeding Madison. I'm glad it was later in the week and not the first couple of days after we took it away, or she would have wanted it. I just told her "You're a big girl now, you don't use binkies anymore." and she didn't have any problems with me taking it away.
Some things that she's doing or saying now are "My Friends" she calls her cousins or the kids at church her friends. She's started saying "no" to a lot of things I say. Especially when I ask her to do something. She wants to put ice in her own cup, put her own pants and shoes on, brush her own teeth, and wash her own hair and body. She pretty much says "I do it!!" all the time throughout the day. Sometimes it drives me bonkers by the end of the day because a lot of the time I will be helping her and she'll say "I do it!!" and then she tries and two seconds later says "help!" I guess it's a good thing that she's at least trying, but man, it's hard to stay patient with her sometimes! =)
She's completely in love with Mickey's Clubhouse show, and anything to do with any of the characters from the show. We went to a bounce place in Dallas with Addie, Jack, and Millie, and there was a blow up thing with Mini on it and she kept wanting to go in that one because of it. She wasn't drinking her milk when we took her bottles away after her 2 year appointment. She just would not drink it from a big girl cup for some reason. So, we went to Target and got her a new Mini Mouse pop top bottle and she's actually been drinking some milk now! She loves Minnie Mouse so much! She usually watches the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show while I work out, and then one before bed with Daddy. Definitely a highlight in her day!
She still loves church so much! Whenever we even drive past the church she yells out "church, church!" She starts saying "my friends" during the closing hymn at church on Sunday, and then she walks right to class with Joe or me in tow. Joe reads scriptures with her every night while I put Madison down, and we have also been pretty good at having Family Home Evening during the week. She loves it! She loves learning, and loves the games we play after. Her favorites are when we play "Ashes Rosie" (Ring Around the Rosie) and when Joe and I swing her and sing "Wash the Dishes, Dry the Dishes, Turn the Dishes Over." That's something I remember doing with my parents after FHE when I was young. Crazy that I'm doing it with my own kids now!
Brooklynn is such a sweet girl, and I consider myself very lucky and blessed to be her mom.
Madison is a little light to our family. She's such a happy, smiley baby and she pretty much just goes with the flow! She loves spending time outside. I've been taking the girls out for a walk a couple times a week, and she is absolutely in heaven just riding in the stroller, looking around, and soaking in the outdoors. She's still only napping for about 30 minutes 2 to 3 times a day, so sometimes she can be whiny and I know it's because she's not getting enough sleep.
She loves Brooklynn so much! She gets so excited when we walk into Brooklynn's room every morning. She'll smile so big and starts trying to kick her feet and laughs and smiles. I love seeing how much those two girls love each other. She's loving her little bouncer, and sometimes she just goes nuts jumping in it. It's really funny to just sit and watch her sometimes. She's sitting up in the high chair to play with toys, and she's attempting to roll over when I lay her on her little kicky mat to play. She's always got something in her mouth, whether its a toy, or her hands. Her grip is getting stronger, and she's started to pull things. If she's upset she will make sure to let me know. I call her my little Drama Queen, because she'll whine really loud, and then she starts doing this little fake cough like she's going to die if I don't feed her, or pick her up, or change her diaper in the next 2 seconds. She's learning how to get what she wants, and she can't even talk yet! Heaven help me!=)
I sat her up in the grocery cart at Costco with Brooklynn the other day, and she absolutely loved it. She loves watching Baby Einstein "Old McDonald" when I put Brooklynn down for a nap. Since Madison sleeps for a shorter amount of time, I put her down for a nap after Brooklynn, so that I can get about 30 minutes of quiet time to myself. So, after lunch I usually put Madison in her swing and turn on her show, and then head upstairs to put Brooklynn down for a nap. It's so funny how much both of my girls have totally gotten engrossed in that show. I'll come downstairs and she's concentrating so hard, it's funny!
She's still a great eater, and a good sleeper(at night) and she absolutely loves taking a bath. She usually goes down for the night around 6:30 or 7 and then I'll wake her up and feed her right before I go to bed, and then she usually wakes up around 4:30 or 5 for another feeding and she'll go right back down and sleep until 6 or 7.
She loves standing up, and since she's obsessed with her bouncer, a lot of times she'll just start jumping right on my lap when I'm holding her. So funny! I can't imagine my life, or our family without her and we are so grateful for her sweet little spirit! She's growing up so fast! I swear it seems like these first 6 months of her life have flown by WAY faster than the first 6 of Brooklynn's, and it seemed like Brooklynn's went by pretty quickly!
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